Ladder.



A. M. D. MENGELER.

LADDER.

APPLICATION FILED 00131, 1908.

953,097. Patented Mar. 29, 1910.

2 SHEETSSEEET l.

Yo o Witnwuo ANDREW B GRAHAM c0., FNOYOLWNOORAPNEFS wasmmamn. u. n

A. M. D. MENGELER.

LADDER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31, 1008.

Patented Mar.29, 1910.

2 SHEETB-SHEET 2.

' Witnemm m, 6 V flrmmw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT M. D. MENGELER, 0F ELGIN, ILLINOIS.

LADDER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented L1 1, 29, 1910 Applicationfiled October 31, 1908.

Serial No. 460,455.

I '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT M. D. MEN- GELER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Elgin, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ladders, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to ladders and has special reference to a deviceof this character which is known as a folding ladder.

An object of this invention is to provide a' ladder with means wherebythe same may be extended or may be employed as a step ladder accordingto the will of the operator.

The invention has for a further object the provision of means which maybe applied to ladders of common construction which will render themadjustable so that they may be extended or folded in order to form apropped ladder.

The invention-has for a still further object the provision of means foraccomplishing these results which is simple in construction, is strongand durable and which may be readily applied to ladders of commonconstruction.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription and it will be understood that changes in the specificstructure shown and described may be made within the scope of the claimwithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawin s forming a portion of this specification, anc in whichlike numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views,Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved ladder in an extendedposition, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the brace for the same, theladder sections being broken away, Fig. 3 is a side elevation of thehinge employed in connection with the ladder showing a fragmentary viewof the ladder sect-ions, Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the ladder in itsfolded position, showing the position of the brace. Fig. 5 is a detailedand enlarged view of the hinge member employed in connection with theladder.

Referring to the drawings, 10 and 11 designate ladder sections which areof common formation and which are reinforced by a plurality oftransverse bolts 12. The adjoining extremities of the ladder sections 10and 11 are secured together by the hinges 13 which are of peculiarconstruction. The hinges 13 each comprise metallic plates 15 and 16which are joined together by the pivot member 17 which is rigidlycarried upon the plate 16 and extended into a recess portion formed uponthe plate 15 and held in such position by a pin 18. The plates 15 and 16are adapted to be secured upon the rear edges of the ladder sections 10and 11 and held in such position by bolts 19 which are passed throughthe same and into the ladder sections 10 and 11 where they are engagedthrough reinforcing plates 20 which are positioned upon the oppositeedges of the ladder sections 10 and 11 and held in such position by nuts21. For the purpose of securing the sections 10 and 11 in p0sition, abrace 22 is employed which is hingedly disposed upon the side of thesection 10 and which is extended longitudinally beyond the end of thesection where it is engagcd by a lock bolt 23 carried upon the side ofthe sect-ion 11. The brace 22 has an intermediately positioned notch S)and a terminal notch and is further held in position by an car 24.carried upon the side of the section 10 at the end thereof forengagement about the brace 22 to prevent the lateral displacement of thesame.

\Vhen the device is to be used as a step ladder the lock bolt 23 isoperated to release the upper extremity of the brace 22 when the braceis disengaged from the arm 2 1 and swung into a horizontal plane. Theupper section 11 is turned downwardly to form the prop for the stepsection 10 and the brace 22 by means of its notch 9 is brought intoengagement with the lock bolt 23 to secure the two sections at thedesired angle as shown in Fig. 1.

By referring particularly to Fig. 4 of the drawings, it will be seenthat when the device is used as a step ladder, the brace will be held inits proper position by the lock bolt engaging with the intermediatenotch or that nearest the pivotal end of the brace, but when thesections of the ladder are adjusted 011 a plane with one another, thelock bolt is adapted to engage with the notch formed in the braceadjacent to the free end thereof, in which position the brace will be ona line with the sections and overlapping the same and cooperating withand being supported in a locked and ri id position by the hooked cars24:, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, all of which construction forms aperfect and efficient lock and brace and prevents accidentaldisplacement of the parts.

What is claimed is A ladder comprising two similar sections, hinges forconnecting the adjoining extremities of the ladder a laterally yieldingarm or brace having an intermediate and a terminal notch formed from oneedge thereof, said arm being'pivotally secured to one section of theladder and of suflicient length to overlap the other section of theladder when the two sections are arranged on a straight line or planewith one another, hooked ears carried by each ladder adjacent to theends thereof, and a lock bolt carried by the opposite section of theladder for engagement with said notches of the arm, whereby when thesections of the ladder are arranged in a straight line the yieldinglocking arm will be rigidly held in a longitudinal position with respectto the sections by said hooked ears and lock bolt cooperating with theterminal notch of the arm or brace.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT M. D. MENGELER.

vWitnesses OTTO MENGELER,

AUGUST MENGELER.

